Thermal Life Span?

R

Rhett Steele

Active member
My dad was asking me how long my thermal gear will last and what the life span is. I didn't have an answer for him so to PM I go.

What I have is hogster 25 and a Super Hogster. How long will they last?

Now that I run an external battery pack, I leave my scope on while traveling from point a to b. Should one turn off or leave on? Just curious about what others do.
 
As far as lifespan I don't think anyone can honestly say because they haven't been on the market that long. It also depends on the actual amount of use as obviously some guys hunt a lot and others don't have the opportunity. One things for sure is its not like NV where hours on the tube makes a difference and I would expect thermal to last longer than NV, especially the lower cost NV.

I turn my Super Hogster off while traveling to stands but my scanner never shuts off. I also put my scope on stand by until I see something coming in while on stand, my reason is I don't want ANY light coming from the scope to possibly illuminate me or anything while I'm scanning.
 
The following information was provided to me by Bering Optics.

Sensor/Detector: The estimation of the life expectancy of the 17um VOx detector in the Hogsters is around 44,000 hours.

Screen: The screen will probably be the first thing to fail long before the detector. The screen is a replaceable element by Bering so that is a good thing. Their screens have shown about a 10% failure rate after 10 years.

Processor: Expected life span of approximately 10 years, but is also replaceable.

Germanium Lens: Expected life of 20 years to guarantee constant heat transmission.

Just because the sensor may have an average life expectancy of 44,000 hours doesn't mean you will be able to run your thermal problem free for 44,000 hours. However, you purchased your thermal from a company with one of the best warranties in the thermal industry (4 year, transferrable) which can also service it if it fails. Hopefully, Bering is in business for a long time.

I see nothing wrong with keeping it on. In cold weather, it actually helps to keep the unit warm. Like anything electronic, you are subjecting a really high-tech piece of electronics to potentially tough weather conditions.
 
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